The invention relates generally to detection systems for detecting anomalies in pipes, and more particularly to an electromagnetic detection system for detecting anomalies in a non-cladded pipe assembly.
Many industries, such as chemical industries, petroleum industries, use pipeline systems for various purposes. One such purpose is for transportation of materials such as chemicals, fuel, and the like. Such pipeline systems may be laid underwater, under soil, or on land. In many cases, pipes in the pipeline systems are insulated and/or shielded to protect the pipes from corrosion, physical damages, and the like. Despite the shielding, one or more anomalies may occur in the pipes due to various reasons including damages in shielding, environmental factors, prior existence of corrosion factors within the shielding, and external forces, among others. The anomalies may eventually degrade and ultimately affect the pipes causing leakage in the pipes leading to production loss, environmental damage, and/or safety issues. It may be necessary to periodically inspect the pipes for anomalies.
It may be extremely cumbersome to detect the anomalies in shielded pipes. The shielding may be removed to visually check for the presence of the anomalies. In some cases, removal of the shielding to check for anomalies may not be possible due to the environment in which they may be situated (for example, under water, closely clustered pipelines, underground). Also, removal of the shielding to visually check for anomalies in the pipe is time consuming and expensive. Furthermore, removal of the shielding may damage the pipes or expose the pipes to environmental factors, such as moisture, that may eventually cause anomalies.
Conventional approaches for detecting the anomalies include using visual and ultrasound thickness gauging of the pipe after manual removal of insulation, long range ultrasound testing, pulsed eddy current, digital radiography, and infrared imaging of the pipe, among others.
One of the common inspection techniques involves using pipelines which have an inner metal pipe and an outer metal cladding with insulation in-between employed as a coaxial waveguide. However, most of subsea pipelines, for example, do not have an external metal cladding and thus cannot be used as a coaxial waveguide directly. In such applications, if probes touch or pierce an insulation of the pipeline, insulation may be damaged causing an adverse impact on the pipeline.
There is a need for an enhanced system and method for detecting anomalies in pipes.